"The English National XC"

After months of cross country league fixtures and regional championships the biggest race of the season finally arrived yesterday. The English National Cross Country Championships the oldest and most famous of all xc races returned to its spiritual home, the testing mud bath that is Parliament Hill Fields on London's Hampstead Heath.

In glorious sunshine at 3pm the 122nd running of the senior men's race got under way. For me, as with many cross country runners this is one of the focus races of the year. For spectators the site of over 1400 runners aiming for the first corner of the course is a usually a sight not to be missed (and quite worrying for the ahletes as well!), however the difference on Parliament Hill is the start which starts on a slight rise & which keeps rising! This really sorts out the field, but whatever speed you start at you are still going into oxygen debt as you reach the top of the first climb and drop sharply down to race a very hilly, muddy two lap course. It was great to have the family there though to shout support although I never knew where they were going to pop up next so couldn't slack off at any stage!

As always I finished well down the field, tired but elated after being cheered in by my family and really enjoyed hearing how the rest of the team had faired, most in front of me but some behind!I have also made myself very popular again this evening washing off copious amounts of mud in the kitchen sink! The short video clip shows me in the final sprint to the finishing line. And yes I did beat the chasing athlete despite the lack of faith shown in me by my son who was commentating!







So that's the cross country over for another season and I can now start to focus on the summer with the aim of targeting some of the county track and field fixtures whilst also aiming to run in some of the summer fell races. To that end the first hill race for me will be the very tough nine mile "Bosley Cloud" race next weekend so I suppose I had better get some hill training done quick!

"Back to base training"

After several weeks of focussing on races the last fews days have seen a return to general training and putting back into the body what the races have taken out! This didn't however mean a relaxation in training as Tuesday's track session returned to six sets of 800m fast (30 seconds recovery) 400m at full tilt, with three minutes to the next rep! The weather also improved and although very cold and frosty, at least it was possible on the recovery runs to loosten up tight hamstrings to actually feel the ground! It's now only one week to the big one, the English National Cross Country Championships, the oldest and most famous cross country race in the world which is making a return to the spiritual home of cross country at Parliament Hill Fields on London's Hampstead Heath. Seven miles of mud and rolling hills await. Bring it on!

Although my daughter Sarah was also not competing this weekend, like me running is never far from anything she does. This week she was delighted to hear that a short story she had written as part of a school project (maximum fifty words) had been accepted for publication! Based on a cross country race we had both been involved in before Christmas here it is -

KILLER HILL

The mist was rolling in and the runneres could just be seen as they ran the dreaded course through mud and rain. Katie was lagging behind at the back. She struggled to keep up with the others as they entered Killer Hill. The pain was immense, would it beat her?

Finally, a fortnight ago I gave a mention to one of Macclesfield Harriers top under 17 runners Lloyd who had become North of England 800m Indoor champion. Well today I have learnt that he has now added the English Championship title to his expanding list of honours. A fantastic achievement, well done Lloyd!

"Wythenshawe Park XC"

As I sit here typing, the snow is starting to come down again finishing off a week that has seen the country in the grip of snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Running conditions both on the track and on the pavements have meant that my running shoe soles haven't touched firm ground all week! A track session on Tuesday on what felt like an ice skating rink coincided with the toughest session of the winter. On a night when the coach was stranded on her farm in the foothills of the Peak District, a group of half a dozen of us self coached a session of 1 x 2 miles plus 4 x 1 mile with two minute recoveries. With a warm up and cool down the session covered over 8 miles and there was no-one else left on the track by the time we had finished with the snow started to fall again!

The 30 mile week was focussed on the final round fixture of the Manchester and District XC League at Wythenshawe Park. This was the race that required everyone to be at peak performance to help the club stay in the top division for another year. Although I love this fast flat course the only time you get some respite is through the wooded section of the course where concentration is key to both staying on your feet and not breaking an ankle! After years of having this section of the 6 mile race pre-programmed in my head, this year the organisers totally change the trail taking the athletes through several ditches that saw you up to two feet deep in mud if you took the wrong line through them. Several athletes did and paid the price, namely retirement! I for once stayed under control and took the best lines through I could and despite coming in behind two of my nearest club rivals managed to shake off my friend and fiercest rival Jack from Salford Metropolitan AC who took a fall in the final lap and finished a totally different colour than he started! He has vowed revenge during the track season!

So another good training and racing week where I finished by leaving everything out on the course yesterday, always a great feeling, especially as it's now only two weeks to the biggest race of the season the English National XC.

"Alsager 5"

Well it's Sunday afternoon and I have just completed one of the best weeks of running and racing for some time, culminating with a great run at the Alsager 5 road race earlier today with shouts of encouragement from none other than Phil Moneypenny of Runcast TV fame!

The week started with some good speedwork at the track including a session of 8 x 600m with 200m jog recoveries, averaging around two minutes per rep. Whilst that felt quite sharp for me so early in the season it was nowhere near as quick as some of the younger club members on the track that night, in particular Lloyd who a couple of days before had become Northern of England Indoor 800m Champion at Under 17 age group in a tiime of 1.58.5. Running from the front I understand that Lloyd pulled away from some of the country's best young runners to record a newPB and take the championship. Brilliant running and well done Lloyd!! Apparently according to my son Lloyd occasionally looks at this blog. He must be the only one who does!

A mixture of off road steady running and a shorter interval session on Friday got me to this morning's Alsager 5 which is a fast flat and very popular race in the north west which is always full before race day. Despite bright sunshine temperatues were hovering around freezing point and the gusting wind made it felt much colder than this. It was great however to see Phil, host of Runcast TV at the start to wish me well. Originally he had planned to run as well but as he is still coming back from injury decided to give it a miss and come back in another couple of weeks. I ran 33.40 which is one of my best times for quite a while, particulalry as I tend not to race on the roads much these days. It was also great to be cheered over the line by Phil and then interviewed afterwards, and here's a link to the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh24o6atOUM&eurl=http://www.runcast.tv/&feature=player_embedded

"The Northern's"

After a quiet start to the week with some easy running on a slight knee niggle, the week ended with a fantastic race at "The Northern Cross Country Championships" at Sherdley Park, St Helens (pictured but without the mud!).

On a very cold, windy but sunny afternoon over seven miles of a rolling and extremely muddy course, it offered the chance to race with (or at least be on the starting line with!) some of Britain's top xc runners. With a team of six to count in the Championship, and due to injuries and illness there being only six Macclesfield Harriers to make it to the start, everyone had to race hard and finish. No pressure then! I had a really good race and whilst at one stage being in fourth position for the team, dropped back to sixth. But remembering one of my "running intentions" from a previous blog, on the last big climb of the day I dug in to work alongside & then pass the team's fifth placed athlete. With lungs and legs on fire I remembered the track coach shouts of "relax those shoulders!", shortened my stride & got the arms working, dug in for the last fast mile and came in to a huge cheer from team members & supporters alike. One even said I looked "quite relaxed". I'm not sure if they meant on the course or at the finish!

It will be back to a few easy recovery days now, and following a mid week track session it's on to the first road race of the year next week end over the very fast course of the Alsager 5.

"Reaching New Heights"

Another good base week with over 30 plus miles added, and with no races this week it was a mix of steady running plus a couple of faster interval sessions and a great hill run over the local Langley 7 road course on a glorious sunny bright but very cold day, which offered great views to the Peak District above and the Cheshire Plain far below.

However the highlight of the week didn't surround me but in supporting my 15 year old son Matt in the annual Vault Manchester polevault event held at Sportcity (site of the Manchester Commonwealth Games and home to the famous "B of the Bang" art sculpture inspired by Linford Christie's comment about getting the best start in the 100m ), and giving vaulters whatever their standard the opportunity to compete with other athletes from around the country, whilst at the same time getting to watch later in the day some of the best polevaulters in the world, both in the warmup area and from very close in during the competition. Matt had a great competition finishing seventh in his age group but more importantly increasing his PB by 12cm to 2.82m. Just to be a spectator was great and really emphasised what a fantastic sport athletics in all its forms can be.

Next weekend it's back to cross country for me and as I sit typing this I can hear the rain belting down outside and ensuring another long afternoon out in the mud!

"Running Intentions"

As we are now well into January and all the resolutions are already broken it's time to set my targets and intentions for the year.

1. To be at least as quick as last year in every equivalent race starting with the Alsager 5 road race on 1st February.

2. To set a whole new set of PB's. Not difficult this is I enter a new category Veteran 50 in July!

3. To run my first road half marathon for 10 years at Stafford in March with Nigel from "Running From The Reaper" and The Swift White Peak Half in May with members of Runcast Tv.

4. Run the remaining XC Championships at maximum effort and holding off my nearest rival through to the end of the season!

5. To target some summer fell races for the first time in many years, including the Staffordshire Moorlands Summer Series.

6. To support my club Macclesfield Harriers & AC at as many track & field meets as I can, both as a competitor (800/1500/3000m) and official.

7. Buy a Flip video or other compact video add some content to Runcast Tv and maintain this blog on a regular basis!

8. Run the final big climb at the annual Shutlinsloe Fell Race (May Bank Holiday), which I have run for the last 28 years.

9. Remain as injury free as possible by regular stretching!

10. Drink less caffeine!

Well the last one has gone out of the window already but there's hope for the other nine!